Conventional free-standing floor signs have been developed with the idea of providing an easily deployed mechanism for alerting passersby of a condition, such as a wet floor, construction overhead, a hole or other condition which might pose a danger or concern for someone in the vicinity. Most frequently, a store or office will place a wet floor sign in the area where a recent spill has occurred to reduce the likelihood that someone will slip on the wet floor. Conventional signs are generally a pair of opposing panels with each panel containing a message printed thereon. The panels are typically coupled at the top by a hinge mechanism. Several signs lock in place by various mechanisms, such as a locking arm that couples the lower portions of the panels together in a removably fixed relationship.
Many of the floor signs developed leave substantial room for improvement in design and functionality. Several of the signs have metal pieces which raises the cost of manufacturing and assembly and the corrosion or metal over time can cause structural failure or aesthetically unappealing signage. The complexity of the design of other signs increases the number of parts needed for assembly, thereby raising costs of manufacturing. Many of these signs require deployment or collapsing using two hands and/or several cumbersome and time consuming steps to achieve the resulting configuration.
It would be desirable to have an easy to use free-standing floor sign which would be expandable from a collapsed position using only one hand and which could be collapsed for transportation or storage using only one hand. Further, it would be desirable to have a floor sign which could be set up or collapsed in a single step operation. Additionally, it would be desirable to have a floor sign that could expand to a predefined width between the panels for optimal stability. Moreover, it would be desirable to have a floor sign which would be stable without requiring panel cross braces for structural stability. It would still further be desirable to have a floor sign which would minimize the number of parts required for assembly and operation, such as by eliminating a separate hinge pin or cross brace, which otherwise increase manufacturing and assembly costs and time. It would likewise be desirable to have a floor sign which requires only one panel design to minimize mold costs.